The 2021 Topps Chrome Baseball base set featured several rookie cards and parallels that have emerged as some of the most valuable and sought after on the modern card market. With its flashy refractors and prospect pedigree, Topps Chrome annually captures the hobby’s attention each fall. Let’s take a closer look at some of the biggest hits and chasers from the 2021 Topps Chrome release.
Perhaps the crown jewel of the 2021 Chrome set is the prized Luis Robert rookie refractor auto. As one of the game’s brightest young stars, Robert’s on-card autograph refractors from his rookie year command top dollar. Graded gem mint PSA 10 examples have cracked the $2,000 price point, with raw copies still bringing in four figures. The prized parallel captures Robert’s electrifying rookie campaign that saw him finish second in AL Rookie of the Year voting.
Staying in the outfield, Juneteenth parallel rookie refractors of Rays star Randy Arozarena also hold significant value in the current market. Arozarena’s breakout 2020 postseason where he set records for hits and stole the show has kept interest in his cards high. Low-numbered Juleteenth refractors are pushing $500-600, with the base refractor hovering around the $150-200 range for a PSA 10.
On the pitching side, White Sox ace Lucas Giolito and Mariners hurler Logan Gilbert found their Chrome rookie refractor autos climbing ranks as well. Giolito has emerged as the ace of Chicago’s young staff, and his autos from his rookie year are staying steady close to $200-250. Meanwhile, Gilbert made a strong MLB debut in 2021 and has fans in Seattle excited long-term – his Chrome rookie auto refractor PSA 10s are approaching $150-200 already.
The biggest rookie crop from the 2021 release though came from AL Rookie of the Year winner Ryley Garcia of the Astros. Garcia saw his stock take off thanks to a dominant first full season in Houston’s rotation. His Chrome rookie refractor auto cracked the $400-500 area at the height of his success. Even base refractors are holding around the $50-75 mark for top grades.
While rookies tend to drive interest in modern releases, established stars like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Juan Soto still found high dollar parallels within the 2021 Chrome set as well. Numbered prizm parallels /50 or lower for Tatis and Soto routinely hit multi-hundred dollar sales. Even their base prizms still trade in the 3 figure range graded mint. As two of the faces of the league, their cards – especially prestigious parallels from Topps Chrome – seem impervious to declines in value.
On the parallel front for 2021 Chrome, two stand above the rest – X-Fractors and Gold Label Prizms. Numbered to just /10 each, X-Fractors naturally command top dollar with examples of stars like Trout, Acuna, and Tatis easily eclipsing $1000+ each. Meanwhile, the super short print Gold Label Prizms /5 or less have emerged the true white whales – we’ve seen recent sales over $5,000 for Mike Trout and Ronald Acuna Jr. Most gold label prizms for top talents trade in the multiple thousands as well.
While the 2021 Topps Chrome base rookie cards of Ryley Garcia, Luis Robert, and Randy Arozarena made the biggest early waves – expect flagship parallels of veterans like Trout, Tatis Jr., Acuna Jr. and Soto to prove the most resilient long-term investments. The flashy Chrome designs, elite rookie class, and coveted serial numbered parallels combined to make the 2021 release one of the most collected and invested in modern issues so far. It will be exciting to see how the leading cards from this set gain or hold value in the coming years.
